I raise both eyebrows and nod. “He did.”
“Oh my God.” She tips her head back and drains her glass. “Then what?”
I shrug. “Next minute we’re kissing like animals and he’s pulling my hair. Before I know it, I’m on his lap and then he has his hand down my tights.”
Her eyes bulge again. “What?”
“I know.”
“You got fingered in the gym by a stranger?” She gasps.
“Shh!” I snap as I look around in embarrassment. “Keep your voice down.”
She leans in towards the table, remembering where she is. “Let me get this straight: you got fingered in a gym bathroom,” she whispers.
I nod.
She snatches my drink from me and drains that glass, too.
I laugh.
“And?”
“Well, I came, and then I got the hell out of there.”
She stares at me, horrified. “You came and left? Like a guy?”
I nod. “Kind of.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”
“I know, right?” I shrug. “I don’t know what happened. This guy was off-the-hook and somehow I completely forgot who I was.”
She rolls her eyes. “Damn it, I need to go to a new gym. This is ridiculous. I’m over here at my shitty gym, horny as hell with not a finger in sight. Why doesn’t this shit ever happen to me?” She sighs dejected.
“Do you want another drink?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll come with you for the walk.” We stand and make our way over to the busy bar, taking our place at the back of the line. Callie laughs as she stares at me, clearly still in shock. “Finger fucked in the gym bathroom. Whatever next?” she whispers, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
I feel a hand snake around my waist from behind, and I turn, completely stunned to see Brock behind me.
“O-oh,” I stammer, caught off guard.
What’s he doing here? Shit, he didn’t hear us, did he?
He’s wearing a black V-neck T-shirt with blue jeans, and he’s towering above me with his hand splayed across my entire stomach.
“Hey,” he says smoothly as his eyes drop down my body. I’m wearing tight leather black pants with a burgundy off-the-shoulder top and high, black ankle boots. My hair is down in subtle waves. Suddenly, Brock kisses me quickly on the lips. “You look fucking delicious,” he murmurs, his eyes drifting down my body again.
I smile and then look over to Callie who is staring at him, rendered speechless.
“Erm. Callie, this is Brock. Brock, this is Callie.”
He smiles sexily. “Hello, Callie.” He turns his attention back to me.
“Brock is my friend from the gym,” I add, trying to make my point to Callie.
Callie’s eyes widen as she connects the dots. “This is your friend from the gym?” she whispers.
Brock smiles darkly and winks at me, knowing full well that I’ve obviously told Callie all about him.
Oh God.
Suddenly, three men walk over, and I nearly swallow my tongue. “Tully and Callie, this is Joshua and Ben, my brothers-in-law. This one here is Adrian.” He pauses and then smiles fondly at the blond man. “My adopted brother. My sisters adopted him, so I guess I’m stuck with him.”
Adrian narrows his eyes and acts offended.
I’ve never seen four men, who are all so good looking, in one place together ever in my life. These guys actually hang out? Joshua is tall with a dark chocolate buzz cut. He’s ridiculously handsome and wearing a white shirt with blue jeans. Ben is masculine and looks like a total bad ass. Then there’s the blond who is quite simply divine.
The blond man smiles. “Hello, Tully.” He looks me up and down, assessing every inch of me.
Jeez. All I can do is smile awkwardly.
The men then go back to their conversation and order drinks, but Brock links his pinky finger with mine and pulls us out of the surrounding conversations.
Suddenly, it’s just the two of us in the room.
“I want to see you, but I can’t blow my sister off. It’s her birthday.” He gestures over to a table, and I see two gorgeous brunettes and a blonde woman sitting together drinking cocktails. They are laughing together.
“Oh, I wouldn’t expect you to.” I smile. “Go and have fun with your friends.”
His eyes drop to my lips and he kisses me again, softly and tenderly. “What are you doing later?” he whispers.
My eyes find Callie who is staring, wide-eyed and astonished at this beautiful male specimen whispering sweetly in my ear.
I gesture to Callie. “It’s a school night, so we’re going home soon.”
He turns to Callie only briefly before he looks back at me. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow night? Nine o’clock?” he asks as he squeezes my hand in his.
I can’t help but smile softly. He really is quite… “Sure. You bet.”
“Nice to meet you, Callie.” He nods and rolls his lips together, as if thinking to himself, and then he kisses me quickly again, just once, before disappearing back through the crowd.
Callie and I watch him walk away. We can’t take our eyes off those large, muscular shoulders, that tight ass, and the best damn arm porn I’ve ever seen.
“Holy fucking shit,” Callie whispers, sounding kind of angry. “That’s the guy you made out with at the gym?”
I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling goofily. “Uh-huh.”
“I have no words.” She shakes her head. “Actually, I do. I’d be a fucking gym junkie if I were you.”
I break into a broad smile.
“Who the hell are his hot friends, anyway?” She frowns. “Do they go to this fantasy gym, because if they do, that’s it! I’m changing gyms.”
My eyes seek out Brock and his friends. “I don’t know, his brothers I think.” I shrug. “I’m pretty sure they are all married to his sisters.”
Callie eyes the table of men. “Lucky bitches.”
I frown as we shuffle up towards the front of the line. The boys are back at the table by this time. “Do you mind if we go home soon?” I ask. “I don’t want to seem like a weird hanger-on.”
Callie shrugs and links her arms through mine. “Sure. We’ll have one more drink and then leave.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re walking out of the front doors and are on the way to the cab rank. “You know, I was thinking,” Callie says. “If I were you, I would be totally stalking him, serial killer style. He’s ridiculous.”
I laugh. “He is a bit.”
“A bit.” She sighs as we hit the kerb. “A lot.”
I look up and stop dead in my tracks. Simon is walking along the other side of the street with his arm around a blonde woman. This is the first time I have ever seen him out in the eight months we’ve been broken up. I watch as he pulls her lips to his mouth, clearly saying something to her that causes her to laugh. They’re both having fun.
My heart drops into my stomach and tears instantly fill my eyes. “Oh my God,” I whisper to no one in particular.
Callie’s eyes widen, and she stops on the spot. “Shit.”
I take out my phone and immediately call Simon’s number, my heart in my throat as it rings. Pick up, pick up. Pick up, baby.
He fishes his phone out, looks at the screen, and then stuffs it back into his pocket.
He didn’t want to speak to me.
He chose her over me.
My bottom lip begins to quiver as I stare at them through blurred vision.
They laugh out loud and disappear around the corner.
Pain lances through my chest.
“Come on, babe,” Callie says as she puts her arm around me. “Let’s go home.”
Brock
“Oh no.” Bridget frowns. “Here it comes again.” She puts both of her hands over her chest to try and stop the oncoming heartburn. “I can’t deal with this pregnancy shit.” She looks at Natasha. “How come you didn’t get heartburn when you were pregnant?”
“Because she had human children. Your baby’s father is an ape,” Joshua says dryly as he sips his beer.
Bridget fakes a laugh. “Ha-ha. You’re so funny.” Her face drops as she sips her Coke. “All I want is a marga-fucking-rita. Is that too much to ask for?”
Joshua chuckles while Ben reaches over to pick his wife’s hand up. He kisses the back of it in sympathy. The man’s a saint. Bridget’s pregnancy has completely stolen her sense of humour and any semblance of my beautiful, easy-going sister. Some women glow while pregnant. Bridget is not one of those women. She’s grown horns.
Big, evil fucking horns.
“Just wait ’til those two babies come out and stretch your vagina to oblivion,” Abbie says nonchalantly. “It will be huge. Like a giant crevice.”
Ben chokes on his drink, coughing and spluttering. Joshua laughs and slaps him on the back.
I wince. God, the things I have to listen to. No man should have to hear this.
“What, like yours?” Adrian snaps, completely outraged that Abbie would say such a thing.
Abbie screws up her face. “Oh, shut up, Adrian. Like you would know anything about vaginas.”
“She’s got you there,” Joshua says smugly.
I tip my head back to the sky in frustration. Seriously? I’m giving up a night of unrivalled pleasure to listen to my sister whine about heartburn and hear about over-stretched vaginas?
“I see you, Brock,” Bridget snaps. “Don’t roll your eyes at us.”
I look at her, deadpan.
Ben smiles sarcastically, happy that someone else is her target tonight.
We are sitting around a table of the crowded restaurant, but my mind is a world away from this lame conversation. I glance over to Tully who I have just seen at the bar as she talks to her friend, and I clench my jaw. I don’t want her to think I was blowing her off. She seemed to understand.
My eyes drop to the sway in her hips and her ass.
So… fucking… hot.
I’ve been hard all day thinking about her.